


His Daughter, the Deer, and the Darkness

by ginnekomiko



Category: Over the Garden Wall (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-19
Updated: 2014-11-19
Packaged: 2018-02-26 07:14:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2642873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginnekomiko/pseuds/ginnekomiko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>My interpretation of how the woodsman might have gotten his role.</p>
            </blockquote>





	His Daughter, the Deer, and the Darkness

It was snowing that day. His daughter had said she was going into town. The woodsman thought nothing of it at the time. It was not until she returned that he knew something was wrong. Her pace was too quick, her breath too shallow.

"What's wrong?" he said as he put down his book.

"Something has attacked a deer!" she said. "It's not something I've seen before. Papa, please bring your axe."

He didn't need to be told twice. Together, they trudged through the softly falling snow until they came across a single buck. A strange black substance oozed from an open wound on its side. The deer struggled to stand. His daughter, bless her heart, ran for the poor creature, offering kind words to the frightened beast.

At the sound of her voice, the deer's head shot upward and stared her down with an unnatural gaze.

The ooze from its wound shot outward engulfing his daughter in a mound of dark mass. He ran for it, clawing at it with his hands, trying to give his daughter some air, but her screams of terror were quickly silenced. When the strange substance finally released her, she was unmoving.

The sound of heavy breathing brought his attention back to reality.

The deer was no longer there. In its place was a man with antlers crawling weakly through the snow.

"I can... save her," its soft voice called.

The woodsman cradled his daughter's limp body. "Please," he whispered. "I'll do anything."

"Very well," said the voice. Her body disappeared from the woodsman's arms. A small lantern took her place, gently falling into in the snow.

The woodsman scrambled to catch it, clutching it to his chest.

"You must protect it," said the beast-man. "Nurture it. Never let her light go out. Otherwise, she really will be gone forever."

"How do I do that?" the woodsman asked.

"The oil to sustain her is in the trees," the beast-man said.

The woodsman picked up his axe. That was all he needed to know.


End file.
